Clever Kids of Old China · chapter 4 of 4
Kong Rong Shares the Pears
孔融让梨
Four-year-old Kong Rong's father brings home a tray of pears, big and small, and his brothers all want the biggest. Then Kong Rong offers to hand them out.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 一千八百多年前，鲁国有一个孩子，叫孔融。他才四岁。
Yìqiān bābǎi duō nián qián, Lǔguó yǒu yí gè háizi, jiào Kǒng Róng. Tā cái sì suì.
More than eighteen hundred years ago, in the state of Lu, there lived a boy named Kong Rong. He was only four.
- Kong Rong 爸爸回来了！爸爸，您拿的是什么？
Bàba huílái le! Bàba, nín ná de shì shénme?
Father's home! Father, what have you got there?
- Kong Zhou 是梨！孩子们，快来吃梨！
Shì lí! Háizimen, kuài lái chī lí!
Pears! Come on, children, come and have a pear!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Clever Kids of Old China is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Big Brother 我是大哥，最大的梨是我的！
Wǒ shì dàgē, zuì dà de lí shì wǒ de!
I'm the eldest. The biggest pear is mine!
- Baby Brother 梨！梨！我也要大的！
Lí! Lí! Wǒ yě yào dà de!
Pear! Pear! I want a big one too!
- Kong Zhou 别急，别急！梨有大有小，大家都想要大的……
Bié jí, bié jí! Lí yǒu dà yǒu xiǎo, dàjiā dōu xiǎng yào dà de…
Wait, wait! Some of the pears are big and some are small, and everyone wants a big one…
- Kong Zhou 这么多孩子，怎么分呢？我也没有办法了。
Zhème duō háizi, zěnme fēn ne? Wǒ yě méiyǒu bànfǎ le.
So many children. How am I supposed to share these out? I really don't know.
- Kong Rong 爸爸，别急，我想一想……我来分，好吗？
Bàba, bié jí, wǒ xiǎng yi xiǎng… Wǒ lái fēn, hǎo ma?
Don't worry, Father. Let me think… Can I hand them out?
- Kong Zhou 你来分？你才四岁啊！好，你来分吧。
Nǐ lái fēn? Nǐ cái sì suì a! Hǎo, nǐ lái fēn ba.
You? You're only four! All right, then. Go ahead.
- Big Brother 小弟来分？那最大的，一定是他自己的！
Xiǎodì lái fēn? Nà zuì dà de, yídìng shì tā zìjǐ de!
Little brother is handing them out? Then he's sure to keep the biggest for himself!
- Narrator 孔融看了看梨，拿起了最大的一个。
Kǒng Róng kàn le kàn lí, náqǐ le zuì dà de yí gè.
Kong Rong looked the pears over and picked up the biggest one.
- Big Brother 你看，我说对了吧！
Nǐ kàn, wǒ shuō duì le ba!
See? Told you so!
- Kong Rong 大哥，这个最大的，给你。
Dàgē, zhège zuì dà de, gěi nǐ.
Big Brother, this biggest one is for you.
- Big Brother 给……给我？谢谢小弟！
Gěi… gěi wǒ? Xièxie xiǎodì!
For… for me? Thanks, little brother!
- Kong Rong 这些大的，给哥哥们。这个大的，给弟弟。
Zhèxiē dà de, gěi gēgemen. Zhège dà de, gěi dìdi.
These big ones are for my big brothers. And this big one is for my baby brother.
- Baby Brother 大梨！好吃！
Dà lí! Hǎochī!
Big pear! Yummy!
- Narrator 最后，孔融拿了一个最小最小的梨。
Zuìhòu, Kǒng Róng ná le yí gè zuì xiǎo zuì xiǎo de lí.
Last of all, Kong Rong took the very smallest pear for himself.
- Kong Zhou 融儿，你为什么拿最小的？
Róng'ér, nǐ wèishénme ná zuì xiǎo de?
Rong'er, why did you take the smallest one?
- Kong Rong 哥哥们比我大，应该吃大的。我小，就吃小的。
Gēgemen bǐ wǒ dà, yīnggāi chī dà de. Wǒ xiǎo, jiù chī xiǎo de.
My big brothers are older than me, so they should have the big ones. I'm little, so I'll have a little one.
- Kong Zhou 那弟弟呢？弟弟比你小啊。
Nà dìdi ne? Dìdi bǐ nǐ xiǎo a.
And your baby brother? He's younger than you.
- Kong Rong 我是哥哥，我也应该让弟弟。
Wǒ shì gēge, wǒ yě yīnggāi ràng dìdi.
I'm his big brother, so I should let him have the bigger one too.
- Kong Zhou 好孩子！大家都想着自己，你想着别人。
Hǎo háizi! Dàjiā dōu xiǎngzhe zìjǐ, nǐ xiǎngzhe biérén.
Good boy! Everyone else is thinking of themselves, and you're thinking of others.
- Big Brother 小弟，你的梨太小了。来，我的梨，给你一半！
Xiǎodì, nǐ de lí tài xiǎo le. Lái, wǒ de lí, gěi nǐ yíbàn!
Little brother, your pear's too small. Here, have half of mine!
- Kong Rong 谢谢大哥！大家一起吃，梨更好吃了！
Xièxie dàgē! Dàjiā yìqǐ chī, lí gèng hǎochī le!
Thanks, Big Brother! When we all share, the pears taste even better!
- Baby Brother 我……我也给哥哥一半！
Wǒ… wǒ yě gěi gēge yíbàn!
Me… I'll give you half too, Brother!
- Narrator 那天晚上，一家人吃得很开心。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, yì jiā rén chī de hěn kāixīn.
That evening, the whole family ate together happily.
- Kong Zhou 融儿，你知道吗？以后，很多孩子都会听你的故事。
Róng'ér, nǐ zhīdào ma? Yǐhòu, hěn duō háizi dōu huì tīng nǐ de gùshi.
Rong'er, do you know what? One day, lots of children will hear your story.
- Kong Rong 我的故事？一个小梨的故事吗？
Wǒ de gùshi? Yí gè xiǎo lí de gùshi ma?
My story? A story about one little pear?
- Kong Zhou 对！一个小梨，一个大故事！
Duì! Yí gè xiǎo lí, yí gè dà gùshi!
That's right! One little pear, one big story!
- Narrator 孔融的爸爸说对了。一千八百多年了，大家还在讲这个故事。
Kǒng Róng de bàba shuō duì le. Yìqiān bābǎi duō nián le, dàjiā hái zài jiǎng zhège gùshi.
Kong Rong's father was right. More than eighteen hundred years later, people are still telling this story.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Kong Rong's father bring home?
“是梨！孩子们，快来吃梨！”
- Why is Kong Rong's father stuck?
“梨有大有小，大家都想要大的……这么多孩子，怎么分呢？”
- What does Big Brother expect Kong Rong to do?
“那最大的，一定是他自己的！”
- Why does Kong Rong take the smallest pear?
“哥哥们比我大，应该吃大的。我小，就吃小的。”
- What does Big Brother do at the end?
“来，我的梨，给你一半！”